NIKKI FINKE AND MIKE FLEMING wrote:UPDATE 7:20 AM: We just learned that James Cameron is telling Hollywood that Fox made a "huge" donation to his environmental green fund, and in return he committed to making the Avatar sequel and threequel his next films. That also caused him to withdraw from Sony Pictures' Cleopatra with Angelina Jolie, even though he'd told the studio that he'd always wanted to film the Queen Of The Nile's story.

WEDNESDAY 6 AM: With this move, Twentieth Century Fox effectively ties up James Cameron through December 2015, apparently putting a hold on Sony Pictures' hopes for the director to helm a fast-tracked Cleopatra starring Angelina Jolie in 2012:

Moving forward with the most anticipated films of the next decade, Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman announced today that Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron has agreed to make AVATAR 2 and 3 as his next films.

Cameron, who had always viewed AVATAR as the creation of a new world and mythology, will begin work on the scripts early next year with an eye towards commencing production later in 2011. Cameron will decide if he will shoot the films back-to-back after he completes the scripts, but the release of the first, as yet untitled sequel, is targeted for December 2014, with the third film contemplated for a December 2015 release.

AVATAR 2 & 3 will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment.

“AVATAR is not only the highest grossing movie of all time, it is a created universe based on the singular imagination and daring of James Cameron, who also raised the consciousness of people worldwide to some of the greatest issues facing our planet,” said Rothman and Gianopulos. “We had no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of AVATAR. This is a great day in the history of our company, and we thank Jim, Jon Landau, Rae Sanchini and all of their team and all of our Fox colleagues throughout the world, who have made this possible.”

Commented Cameron: "It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company. AVATAR was conceived as an epic work of fantasy – a world that audiences could visit, across all media platforms, and this moment marks the launch of the next phase of that world. With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Twentieth Century Fox. Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience's expectations for the richness of AVATAR’s visual world and the power of the storytelling. In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of AVATAR’s visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I'm looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild."

“It is very exciting to be teaming again with our partners at Fox to give audiences the opportunity to return to Pandora,” said producer Jon Landau. “With the first movie, Jim only scratched the surface of the stories he wants to tell and the creatures and world he wants to create. Now we will continue his vision.”

AVATAR is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in nearly $2.8 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time. AVATAR won Golden Globe® awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Director; and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won Oscars for art direction, visual effects and cinematography.

AVATAR was written by Cameron from an idea he nurtured for over a decade, while working on the technology necessary to realize its wholly imagined world. Working with Joe Letteri and his team at Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital, Cameron created a fully immersive 3D cinematic experience of a new kind, where revolutionary technology that was invented to make the film disappeared into the emotion of the characters and the epic nature of the story.

AVATAR 2 & 3 will mark Cameron’s latest collaborations with Twentieth Century Fox, a relationship that spans 25 years and marks one of the most successful filmmaker-studio alliances in motion picture history. Cameron and Fox first joined forces in 1985 for Aliens, which became a sci-fi classic. Next came The Abyss, which revolutionized visual effects technology; and True Lies, a blockbuster starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1996, Fox greenlighted Cameron’s Titanic, which became the most successful film in history, and won a record-breaking eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Pamela McClintock wrote:The far-reaching pact for two more "Avatar" pics keeps James Cameron at 20th Century Fox for at least five more years in a sizeable coup for the studio.

As first reported by Variety.com, "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3" will be Cameron's next films. He's hoping to begin production in late 2011, and could shoot the films back-to-back. He's expected to begin writing early next year.

It's only the second time in his career that Cameron has directed an original and a sequel -- "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," came out nearly 20 years ago (he directed "Aliens," but not the original "Alien").His commitment to an "Avatar" sequel and three-quel underscores Cameron's avid interest in revisiting the world he created for "Avatar" and continuing the storyline.

For Fox, it provides two cornerstone tentpoles that are expected to hit theaters in December 2014 and December 2015, respectively.

A global sensation that proved the power of 3D if done right, "Avatar" cumed $2.8 billion at the global box office to become the top grossing film of all time, toppling Cameron's "Titanic" ($1.8 billion).

Negotiations for the sequel and three-quel began in earnest over the summer, according to insiders. Cameron has a close relationship with Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chair Jim Gianopulos, who shares the top job with Tom Rothman.

Cameron also has a long relationship with Fox, beginning with "Aliens" in 1985 and 1997's "Titanic."

One unique provision of the deal is that Fox will help co-fund with Cameron a nonprofit org, the Avatar Foundation, which will support indigenous rights and the environment, including the fight against global warming. Certain proceeds from future "Avatar" pics will go to the foundation.

"Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3" will be produced by Cameron and his partner Jon Landau for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment. Lightstorm partner Rae Sanchini negotiated the deal on behalf of the company.

"In the second and third films, which will be self-contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of 'Avatar's' visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world," Cameron said. "I'm looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild."

Fox and Cameron have always said the cost of any follow-up films will be offset by the original investment made in creating the groundbreaking technology used in "Avatar."

"Avatar," released by Fox in December, grossed $760.4 million domestically and $2 billion overseas and helped fuel the boom in 3D feature production. It's also the top-selling Blu-ray disc.

"'Avatar' is not only the highest grossing movie of all time, it created a universe based on the singular imagination and daring of James Cameron, who also has raised the consciousness of people worldwide to some of the greatest issues facing our planet," Gianopulos and Rothman said. "We had no greater priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of 'Avatar.' "

Cameron penned "Avatar" from an idea he nurtured for more than a decade, all the while developing cutting-edge technology to make the 3D film, with the help of Peter Jackson's Weta Digital.

"It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company," Cameron said. "With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at 20th Century Fox."

The announcement for the two "Avatar" tentpoles answers the question of what Cameron will do next. Other projects he was rumored to be considering included "Cleopatra" for Sony.

Jay A. Fernandez & Georg Szalai wrote: James Cameron has committed to making two sequels to his record-breaking 3D epic "Avatar" for Fox. The movies are scheduled for release in late 2014 and 2015, which means he won't direct other features for the next three or four years.

The writer-director had conversations with Columbia about directing "Cleopatra," starring Angelina Jolie, but that possibility is off the table, meaning the studio will have to look for another director.

But Cameron has two major projects he is producing during the next few years: Guillermo del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" for Universal and a remake of "Fantastic Voyage" that Laeta Kalogridis is rewriting for Fox and Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment.

For the time being, however, he will dive back into writing screenplays for more stories that take place on Pandora. His first film about that invented world and its natives' struggles for survival in the face of greedy Earth capitalists grossed $2.8 billion worldwide after it was released in December.

"We'll continue to follow the same people on the same planet," producer Jon Landau said Wednesday during Paul Kagan's 3D Media Markets conference in New York. But, he allowed, "We might go underwater."

The filmmakers plan to shoot the movies back to back with much of the same cast. Asked whether stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana had signed for the sequels, Landau said, "We won't have a problem."

The ongoing "Avatar" chapters will be the CAA-repped Cameron's ninth and 10th features as a writer-director; he also made "True Lies," "The Terminator," "Aliens" and "The Abyss."

Fox also is moving forward with converted 3D rereleases of Cameron's "Titanic" and George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." Both are tentatively set for spring 2012 openings.

James Cameron has spoken frequently about his intention to turn his mega-hit Avatar into a trilogy. Now, according to the director himself speaking at the PGA Awards on Saturday, those two sequels have release dates. Cameron tells EW, “I am in the process of writing the next two Avatar films now. We are planning to shoot them together and post them together, and we will probably release them not quite back to back, but about a year apart. Christmas ’14 and ’15 is the current plan.” Of course, it’s probably best to take those release dates with a grain of salt, since the first Avatar had several release dates before its December 2009 release. Still, now fans know that they’ll have to wait at least three more years for a return to Pandora.

Cameron also notes that we’ll see some familiar faces return. “Basically, if you survived the first film, you get to be in the second film, at least in some form,” say the director. One thing’s for sure: some percentage of the presumably-massive Avatar sequel gross will go to charity. “Fox has partnered with me to donate a chunk of the profits to environmental causes that are at the heart of the Avatar world,” says the director. “I didn’t want to make more Avatar movies without a grander plan in place.”

I don't believe a word of this. I think Cameron has a restless creative mind, and even if he means it now, he won't mean it in a year or so. He'll have other ideas and will want to work on other projects. Cameron will get bored of Avatar soon enough.

Roger Friedman wrote:Sigourney Weaver confirmed tonight that James Cameron is shooting “Avatar” 2, 3, and 4 all at the same time, all with her, and starting this fall. But first…

Are you ready for the Clintons as a political soap opera? Sigourney Weaver is playing it pretty close to Hillary and Ciaran Hinds is a damn good Bill Clinton in USA Network’s “Political Animals.” The studio threw a fine all star premiere in New York last night at the Morgan Library, showing off Greg Berlanti’s new dramedy. Frankly, like most of the USA Networks shows, this could play on NBC in prime time. A real movie star, Sigourney Weaver, plays Elaine Barrish, ex First Lady of a philandering Democratic president who becomes Secretary of State.

Sound familiar? Ellen Burstyn gets the fun role of being Sigourney’s loose lipped, hilarious and always a little tipsy mother. The couple also has two kids–James Wolk plays the “good” son, who’s marrying a bulimic Asian American. Sebastian Stan is the coke snorting Dumbledore son. It’s a soap opera, but it’s deliciously done, extremely well written and produced. This is a six episode limited run beginning July 15th, but “Political Animals” will more than likely find a permanent place on the USA schedule very quickly. Sigourney is phenomenal.

When “Political Animals” finishes shooting, see if you can follow Weaver’s schedule: she goes right into a new Christopher Durang play for a short run at Lincoln Center. Then she films “Avatar” 2, 3, and 4 with James Cameron. That’s right: they’re making three sequels to the blue 3D phenom all at the same time. Weaver says she has no idea how long it will take, or how it’s going to work. “I just show up,” she said. If “Political Animals” is renewed, USA will have to wait until all that’s over. And it’s not like Weaver is the only busy person in her household: husband director Jim Simpson is debuting a new play by A. R. Gurney at the Flea Theater this fall.

Also great, by the way, in “Political Animals”: Carla Gugino as a crusading Washington reporter, Dan Futterman as her editor/boyfriend. Also a shout out to Clifton Davis, who played a network correspondent at the start of Episode 1. You do know that Clifton Davis wrote the great Jackson 5 song, “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

I don't really know what the process for making an AVATAR movie is. I would think that they are they quick shoots and then mostly animators doing post-production, so Cameron himself might be free to start working on something else long before AVATAR 3 is released.

Spandau Belly wrote:I don't really know what the process for making an AVATAR movie is. I would think that they are they quick shoots and then mostly animators doing post-production, so Cameron himself might be free to start working on something else long before AVATAR 3 is released.

You do know we are talking about James Cameron, right? Isn't he a legendary control freak? I can't imagine he would just hand the shit over to post and say "see you in a year"...now he might have the time to sit on the couch and write some scripts while the animators slave away at their computers.

That's what I was thinking. He could be writing and doodling concept art for THE INFORMATIONIST or BATTLE ANGEL ALLIE while he waits for animators to bring him stuff for approval.

Cameron has been pretty good about doing what he says. He's not one of these Tarantino guys who mentions a new dream project every week. But Cameron does take his time getting all the pieces in place.

The brief plot synopsis for THE INFORMATIONIST doesn't sound like the type of huge technical challenge that has defined Cameron's career. It would be interesting to see him do something that doesn't involve groundbreaking effects or mega-budgets. Just a tight little thriller.

WELLINGTON (AFP) - Oscar-winning director James Cameron predicted Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" would do for high-definition film-making what his own hit "Avatar" did for 3D movies.

Jackson has filmed "The Hobbit" at a groundbreaking 48 frames a second rather than the standard 24, a move that drew mixed critical reactions when a preview was screened in Las Vegas in April.

But Cameron, a surprise guest at the premiere of the first instalment of "The Hobbit" in Wellington on Wednesday, said he faced similar scepticism pioneering modern 3D techniques on "Avatar", now the highest grossing film of all time.

He said Jackson's latest movie was destined to be a hit, making it easier for him (Cameron) to employ 48 frames a second which eliminated the "strobing" seen in standard films.

"If there is acceptance of 48, then that will pave the way for Avatar (sequels) to take advantage of it," Cameron told reporters.

"We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar, now Peter's doing it with the Hobbit. It takes that kind of bold move to make change."

Jackson this week likened the higher shooting rate to the introduction of compact discs, saying it was the way of the future for film.

"I personally think it's fantastic, but it's different," he told Radio New Zealand.

"I remember when CDs came in and there was a nostalgic feeling that the sound of a needle on vinyl was what music should sound like -- suddenly you've got this pristine clarity and a lot of people were nay-saying it."

Cameron said Jackson was a singular film-maker who had turned the New Zealand film industry into a global force.

"He's elevated the industry to a global level, where people from all over the world -- artists, film-makers, special effects technicians and so on -- come here to work, that's unique," he said.

"It's really only happened a couple of times before, in Los Angeles and maybe London... it's the first time it's been done by a single film-maker."

Cameron, who owns a farm in New Zealand, said he was on the property working on scripts for sequels to "Avatar", complaining: "Unfortunately it's too damn distracting because it's so beautiful".

He said he hoped to have the scripts completed by February and begin filming by the end of next year.

"I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don't want to be writing the movie in post production," the director said.

"We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don't want to do that again."

Cameron, originally from Canada, said he was enjoying the relaxed lifestyle in New Zealand."We knew our immediate neighbours in a couple of mile radius a heck of a lot better in the first few weeks than we did in Los Angeles in 10 years," he said.

Rachel Abrams wrote:Exclusive: Marking the first slate financing arrangement to close since the financial meltdown of 2008, 20th Century Fox has made a deal for just north of $400 million to help fund nearly all its films over the next five years, including the next two "Avatar" pics, multiple sources have confirmed to Variety.

New deal also marks Fox's first major financing under the sole chairmanship of Jim Gianopulos, who took over running the studio after co-topper Tom Rothman left his post at the end of last year. The duo ran the studio at the time of its first pact with Dune.

Carolyn Giardina wrote:LAS VEGAS -- Stephen Rivkin, who edited Avatar with John Refoua and director James Cameron, said Wednesday at an editors panel at the NAB Show that a new editing pipeline is being developed for the sequels.

"After Avatar's release, we got together to discuss how to improve the process," he said. "We are developing a new pipeline that helps with what we were making up as we were going along."

Rivkin continuned, "Editorial is working very closely with Avid and Weta Digital. We are trying to develop a pipeline that will track metadata for each character as the virtual production proceeds."

"Jim is going to continue to push the envelope," he added. "We are working with higher resolution, which will enable a much easier hand off to Weta. Jim is also experimenting with high frame rates.“

Also during the session, Iron Man director Jon Favreau's go-to editor Dan Lebental warned that mobile technology is going to change the way editors work. "We are starting to take editing away from fixed editing rooms," he said. "I think you will need them for specialty things. I adore my Avid, but it is drastic overkill [for certain uses]."

Because of that, Lebental himself developed TouchEdit, a new $50 editing app for the iPad, which he demonstrated at the NAB Post Pit. It is designed for use as a standalone tool or in conjunction with another editing system such as an Avid Media Composer. "What I'm looking for is a simpler way of doing things," Lebental said.

The editors on the panel said they are increasingly using Skype, video links and other such tools to communicate with many collaborators when they are not in the same location.

But William Goldenberg, the Oscar-winning editor of Argo, emphasized the importance of being face to face with a director. "There is no substitute for being in the room with the director," he said, adding that he had some virtual collaboration with Michael Bay while cutting Transformers: Dark of the Moon, "but it's not the same as being able to look at someone in the eye."

Rivkin agreed, saying, "The editor and director is probably the closest relationship in the entire production."

MIKE FLEMING JR wrote:EXCLUSIVE: James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have upped the number of Avatar sequels they’ll make from two to three, and they’ve set three high-level screenwriters (one is a team) to get the movies in shape to be shot simultaneously. That is easily a recipe for the most expensive set of pictures ever made, and an ambitious production plan not seen since New Line and Peter Jackson made three The Lord Of The Rings films back to back. Back then, Jackson was coming off The Frighteners. Fox at least has the confidence of knowing Cameron’s last two films are the biggest-grossing pictures in movie history, with Avatar at the top by a wide margin. It’s still a gutsy play; it is not unimaginable that three Avatar installments could cost close to $1 billion. The original grossed $2.8 billion.

Cameron has set War Of The Worlds scribe Josh Friedman to write one film; Rise Of Planet Of The Apes‘ Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver to write another; with the third to be written by Shane Salerno, who wrote and directed the upcoming documentary Salinger and who previously worked with Cameron on a remake of Fantastic Voyage at Fox. The writers will collaborate with Cameron separately and co-write three separate movies with him.

The three pictures will be filmed simultaneously with production beginning next year. The release of the first sequel will be in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017, and the third a year later. Avatar 2, 3, and 4 will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner. Lightstorm will work once again with Joe Letteri and his team at WETA Digital on the three films.

The choice of writers came after Cameron and Landau spent weeks meeting with A-list screenwriters vying for the job. They’ve been working with Cameron from his Manhattan Beach studio.

Commented Cameron: “Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired –­ to join me in completing the films screenplays.”

This is far and away the beach head project for 20th Century Fox chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos, who pulled Cameron out of a proposed plan to direct Cleopatra at Sony with Angelina Jolie, and instead made a deal that ensured his focus would be on expanding his Avatar universe and the groundbreaking 3D technology that brought it to life. The move by Gianopulos kept Cameron in the Fox fold, a relationship that spans nearly 30 years, starting with 1985′s Aliens. Said Gianopulos: “We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of Avatar. The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all.”

Cameron wrote Avatar from an idea he nurtured over a decade, including the technology required to make it happen in immersive 3D, which Cameron accomplished working with WETA Digital. That explained the long absence he took after helming Best Picture Oscar winner Titanic, which was co-financed by Fox and Paramount. Aside from being the all-time biggest grosser, Avatar is also the biggest selling Blu-ray disc ever. It got nine Oscar nominations and won three.

I think this news sucks. Cameron did a pretty good job of establishing the world of Avatar. Seeing Arnold there will immediately pull me out of the picture to think "Hey, that's Arnold!"

He found such a good villain in Stephen Lang the first time around. When I saw the news that he was going with someone he's already worked with, I got a little excited that it might be Michael Biehn. So bummed that it isn't him.

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Avatar was a 4/10 film with visuals that were so striking and revolutionary for the time that it made it an 8/10 film. I wonder what the approach will be for 2, 3 and 4? Up the ante, somehow, visually? I'm honestly having trouble imagining how to do that, but it seems there's always something new around the corner and I know Cameron is at the forefront of this stuff. Or do they keep the visuals essentially at par or a little better and try to ramp up the story, mythology, characters, etc?

Right now I'm having trouble caring about this at all. I hope that I'm proven wrong. There is, of course, potential here for coolness.

I too thought the first one was a really really expensive average movie. The plot was okay, but didn't take enough risks to make it really gripping. The main character probably could've used more of an internal conflict. It was kinda the same as MAN OF STEEL in that respect, it seemed like it was setting the stage for the main character to be torn between one race and another, but then forgot to make the choice in any way difficult for him. Cameron is still top dog in staging action and I thought his nature photography of Pandora was beautiful and probably my favourite aspect of the first film. I saw AVATAR once, had a nice night at the movies, and will probably revisit it closer to the release of part 2.

I'll definitely see the sequel, and probably have as good a time as I did in the first one. Cameron has a great track record with upping the ante for sequels; but I'll admit that when I heard the villain would be a general, I was a little disappointed. I really hope there's something more to it than savages using their primitive Ewok ways to take down the technology-dependent colonists again.

Avatar is such a weird case. it's the highest- grossing film ever made, and yet, it's almost entirely spectacle, the story is completely unoriginal and forgettable, there are no iconic characters or lines or scenes, the pop culture impact is minimal. compare that to any of the previous huge blockbusters like SW or indiana jones or even cameron's own terminator and titanic. all those films resonated with people long after the film was out of theaters. but i think avatar was just so empty of anything that really connected with people on a deep or lasting level, that i think these sequels are really going to struggle to come close to what avatar did. i mean, the 3D hook really boosted the original, but it's old hat by now, and i don't think the "amazing" 3D is really going to boost box office like it did last time. what else is there to really bring back people in droves?

TheBaxter wrote:... i don't think the "amazing" 3D is really going to boost box office like it did last time. what else is there to really bring back people in droves?

Avatar wasn't just 3D, it was quality immersion into that world (especially in IMAX). Every other 3D film that I've seen since then (3 or 4) has been pathetic and headache-inducing. Cameron created the film around 3D and treated the technology with so much reverence that he waited until the technology was capable before even starting on the film. While I agree with everything you said about film's story, characters, lines, etc. (none were particularly horrible, just not memorable - which that genre requires now), I also agree with Spandau in that watching Avatar at the theater was a great time* and that's what will bring me back.

*I saw it twice - the first time in IMAX and the second time in a standard theater. The IMAX presentation blew me away and is still the best time I've had watching a film. It was also the first 3D film I had seen in the theater (never did the ol' red & blues). When I saw it in a regular theater I was very tired and fell asleep constantly throughout the film. I don't think I could have fallen asleep in an IMAX theater if I wanted to. That IMAX experience is what has already sold me a ticket to every James Cameron 3D IMAX film to come.

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i think you may be giving too much credit to the film and not enough to imax. EVERYTHING in imax is immersive. (i'm talking real imax here, not the fake digital shit that gets passed off as imax in the local multiplex). i remember seeing The Dark Knight in imax (non-3D) and THAT was incredibly immersive, the full imax shots in that film were amazing. i wanted to see avatar on imax, but it got yanked from the true imax theaters near me before i got the chance, so i ended up not seeing it at all until it finally came on BR. and i was very underwhelmed. it certainly wasn't very immersive in that medium, the 3D was nothing special or different than any other 3D film i've seen, and the look of the film i felt was very artificial and video-game-y.

now you can talk about how the film is suited much more for imax, but how many people even have the opportunity to see it on a real imax screen? they didn't make 2 billion dollars on imax tickets, most people who saw it saw it on a normal 3D screen. i'm just wondering what these new films will have to offer those people that isn't just more of the same.

Yeah I have to echo Baxter's viewpoint. I didn't see it in theater, so I missed out on the whole immersive thing that everyone and their dead grandmother raves about. I did eventually see the movie on Blueray (not even 3D, just low brow normal viewing). I thought it was a borderline terrible movie, and really completely forgettable. So take the groundbreaking IMAX viewing away, distill it down to the basics (plot, story, characters) and man it fell flat IMO. Which is why I most likely will not see #2 and #3 either. Who knows, maybe the thought of seeing a digitally enhanced Arnold on the big screen will be enough of a draw for me.

TheBaxter wrote:i think you may be giving too much credit to the film and not enough to imax. EVERYTHING in imax is immersive. (i'm talking real imax here, not the fake digital shit that gets passed off as imax in the local multiplex).

I believe I gave proper credit to both. I think you may be seriously undervaluing Avatar's technical achievements based upon the medium in which you viewed it.

TheBaxter wrote:i wanted to see avatar on imax, but it got yanked from the true imax theaters near me before i got the chance, so i ended up not seeing it at all until it finally came on BR. and i was very underwhelmed. it certainly wasn't very immersive in that medium, the 3D was nothing special or different than any other 3D film i've seen, and the look of the film i felt was very artificial and video-game-y.

To write off Avatar as the benchmark, and more importantly - the potential, of 3D based on that experience is like basing your all-encompassing opinion on sex on a single experience of fapping to the Sears lingerie ad that came in the Sunday paper when you were 13.

Ha! I just checked out what was playing at my local IMAX...... Check this out:

Part of me wonders if the characters and plot are so bland in AVATAR because Cameron was more interested in the technical challenges than the narrative challenge, or if Cameron was afraid of making THE PHANTOM MENACE. So rather than give a character a big personality and risk making the next Jar Jar Binks, Cameron just made everybody pretty bland.

so sorry wrote:Yeah I have to echo Baxter's viewpoint. I didn't see it in theater, so I missed out on the whole immersive thing that everyone and their dead grandmother raves about. I did eventually see the movie on Blueray (not even 3D, just low brow normal viewing). I thought it was a borderline terrible movie, and really completely forgettable. So take the groundbreaking IMAX viewing away, distill it down to the basics (plot, story, characters) and man it fell flat IMO. Which is why I most likely will not see #2 and #3 either. Who knows, maybe the thought of seeing a digitally enhanced Arnold on the big screen will be enough of a draw for me.

For what it's worth, I haven't watched Avatar on TV in any format (BluRay/Cable). No desire to because the movie itself doesn't exceed the theatrical experience.

And that's okay with me. The experience was enough to bring me back.Now, if it was just a 2D film at a local theater?........ most likely I'd skip it and wait to watch it at home (unless the reviews were off-the-charts amazing).

Spandau Belly wrote:Part of me wonders if the characters and plot are so bland in AVATAR because Cameron was more interested in the technical challenges than the narrative challenge

I think he was.Now the question is whether or not he'll listen to all the criticism he received for the first film, or if he'll just go the Lucas route and write what he wants to write.

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so sorry wrote:Yeah I have to echo Baxter's viewpoint. I didn't see it in theater, so I missed out on the whole immersive thing that everyone and their dead grandmother raves about. I did eventually see the movie on Blueray (not even 3D, just low brow normal viewing). I thought it was a borderline terrible movie, and really completely forgettable. So take the groundbreaking IMAX viewing away, distill it down to the basics (plot, story, characters) and man it fell flat IMO. Which is why I most likely will not see #2 and #3 either. Who knows, maybe the thought of seeing a digitally enhanced Arnold on the big screen will be enough of a draw for me.

I hear you and agree with everything you just said (though I'd lean more toward the forgettable and less toward the borderline terrible...i didn't hate the characters/story/etc I just didn't care about any of it very much). But that said, if you didn't get a chance to see Avatar in true IMAX 3D I'd recommend giving it a shot for the spectacle alone. It really is worth the $15-$20 and time commitment in the right medium if you haven't seen it before in that way. Either seeing Avatar 2 or a re-release of Avatar in IMAX 3D (which is already apparently happening, see Fievel's post).

Now all that said...I DID see it that way so it's kinda been there done that for me. I think it might be for others too. It'll probably still make a kajillion dollars tho.

Fievel wrote:I believe I gave proper credit to both. I think you may be seriously undervaluing Avatar's technical achievements based upon the medium in which you viewed it.

i'm not overvaluing or undervaluing, or valuing at all, the technical achievement. i just don't think the technical achievement, to whatever degree it was accomplished, will have much to do with bringing people back to see a sequel. just like i don't think 48fps really had any impact on the B.O. for the hobbit. people went to see it because they liked the LOTR films and wanted to see more of that world. a few people (like myself) were curious enough about the 48fps thing to give it a shot, but i know if the next one comes out in 48fps, i'll probably skip it (definitely skip it if it's more expensive than normal tickets) and i don't think there are too many other people for whom 48fps will make or break their decision to see the film. it will be because they are invested in the characters and the world, and the technology used to portray that world isn't going to make a difference to a very large number of people. i just don't see what there is in the characters or the world of Avatar that would make people want to come back for more.

Fievel wrote:For what it's worth, I haven't watched Avatar on TV in any format (BluRay/Cable). No desire to because the movie itself doesn't exceed the theatrical experience.

And that's okay with me. The experience was enough to bring me back.Now, if it was just a 2D film at a local theater?........ most likely I'd skip it and wait to watch it at home (unless the reviews were off-the-charts amazing).

this kind of reinforces my point. the vast majority of people saw the film in 2D or run-of-the-mill 3D at their local theater. a very small percent saw it in imax. so if you need to see it in imax to fully appreciate it, then most people were never able to fully appreciate the first film, and won't be able to fully appreciate the sequels. most people either don't have the ability to see it in imax, or it's so far away they'd have to drive a long time to get there. i would have had to drive 1 1/2 hours to go see it in imax. i was willing to do that but most people aren't, they just want to see movies at whatever theater is closest to them. for these people, how incredible or immersive or awe-inspiring the imax presentation is, is irrelevant. 3D no longer has the novelty factor it had then, so appealing to people on the basis of spectacle for the sequels i don't think will be nearly as successful as it was the first time. and without spectacle, this franchise has nothing, if the first film is any indication. i think that been-there-done-that feeling that moo described will be pretty common as well.